On Jan. 18, 2000, one of the inventors of this Invention, Scott A. Heimermann, filed an application for patent of an invention entitled, “Supply-Driven e-commerce”, with an additional inventor, Matthew Gore, who subsequently assigned all of his interest in said application and patent (if issued) to Scott A. Heimermann.
The instant Invention invented by Scott A. Heimermann and Stephen Danforth, however, while drawing in part on concepts set forth in that earlier invention, is distinct therefrom in terms of both system architecture and system operation, as will be described below.
On or about May 18, 2000, and again on Aug. 22, 2000, Scott A Heimermann and Stephen Danforth, as inventors of this Invention, filed a provisional Patent Application, under application No. 60/226,818, as to the instant Invention now specified in this non-provisional Patent Application. The May 18, 2000, filing was faulty in certain respects, notably in failing to include the filing fee. However, the Aug. 22, 2000, filing was correct and effective as a provisional Patent Application. By the instant filing, within one year of said previous, effective provisional Patent Application, said inventors intend to preserve the temporal priority of this Invention. This application is entitled to the benefit of Provisional Patent Application No. 60/226,818 filed Aug. 22, 2000.